Back in the days when we could go out to restaurants, one of the best AND worst places to eat was Cheesecake Factory. It had the best food but unfortunately, the menu was so big that you couldn’t easily pick out what you wanted to eat. And of course, you had to leave room for dessert. It was great and awful all at the same time. The term for this situation is analysis paralysis.
For some of us, this challenge with the overload of news, information, technology, and of course COVID-19 is that we’re often forced to make decisions with either too much or not enough information. Because we can’t choose to just NOT decide, I’ve come up with a matrix that might be helpful.
Take a look at the model below:
There are four quadrants. Each one contains a condition. Use this to sort out the massive amount of data you have and then make your decision
- Quadrant 1 – I know and see all. This is the ideal data. There is visible evidence and you have complete understanding of what that data and evidence means. This is how most of us are comfortable making decisions. Unfortunately, this is probably the smallest quadrant we can operate from in ambiguity.
- Quadrant 2 – I SEE the data but can’t really make anything from it because I don’t fully understand it. Be sure to collect all of this data and then involve your team, at all levels, in helping you interpret it. Remember, you don’t have all the answers and sometimes the person you least expect to contribute might have the answers here.
- Quadrant 3 – I have a gut feeling about something but have no visible evidence to prove it. We operate from here quite a bit and the more experienced you are, the more reliable this data is. Be sure to communicate this to your team in ways they can visualize it as they don’t always share your perspective and context.
- Quadrant 4 – I don’t have any visible evidence and am suffering a bunch of unknowns. In ambiguity, most of us lead with this quadrant out of fear and frustration. But realize that the answers probably aren’t in this box anyway. Focus on what we DO know, and this box will become smaller.
Remember, times of ambiguity are opportunities for greatness. People might not remember you when you lead in successful times, but if you can make unknowns known and operate with confidence, your team will never forget you!
Lead on!